Time After Time
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Tonks has an accident at the Ministry that has some curious consequences...Tonks/Ginny
1. The Challenge

**_LbN: And in second place, SmellsLikeRain!_**

I was thinking that a good story might be where Tonks was still in Hogwarts, and Ginny was somehow in there to? Just something younger?


	2. Tonks's Accident

Time after Time

**Time after Time**

"Tonks! Hey Tonks!" Harry yelled.

"Wotcher Harry!" Tonks said, spinning around, "What's up?"

"Kingsley wants us," Harry said, "He said it's important."

Tonks unlocked the door to office, tossed the files she was carrying onto the desk, the locked it back and followed Harry. About halfway down the hallway, she turned to him.

"Any idea what this is about?" she asked.

"Not a clue," Harry shrugged, "He just said he had something to show us."

They stopped in front of a door to one of the bigger offices and knocked. They heard Kingsley's deep voice say, "Enter!"

"Wotcher Kingsley," Tonks smiled.

"Tonks, Harry," he grinned at the pair of them, "Come with me."

With a bewildered look at each other, the two younger Aurors followed Kingsley to the elevator, where he tapped the button for the Department of Mysteries.

"I should fill you in," he began, "We've been looking for a way to, for lack of a better word, time travel without the use of Time Turners. This new method they are proposing would allow the traveler to stay beyond the time gap. That is, if you turned yourself back three hours, you would not have to be back in three hours, as with the Time Turners. We've had a breakthrough today, and I thought you should see it."

He held the door open for them, and the three of them stepped into a room containing glowing blue circles in each corner. One of the wizards in the far left corner of the room waved at them as they approached.

"Wotcher Gibbens!" Tonks said, grinning at the older man.

"Hi there Tonks, and ah!" Gibbens did a double take, "This must be Mr. Potter."

"Nice to meet you," Harry smiled and shook the man's hand, "So, I'm kind of new to all this. What do you have here? Kingsley explained what they do, but I'm a little confused as to why half of the Auror Department is in on this."

"The entire premise of these portals," Gibbens explained, "is to be able to study the years leading up to any major changes in the wizarding world; especially Dark wizards' rises. To look for patterns, you see? That will be the Auror Department's specialty when these are ready."

He stopped shooting sinister orange sparks at the base of the portal and beckoned to them. They moved closer to where the portal was glowing.

"These two," he indicated the two on the back wall, "are Departure Portals. This one will take you anywhere in the past ten years, and that one will take you anywhere between ten and twenty years. I've just now gotten it so that we can program how many years the traveler will go back."

"How are you testing it?" Tonks asked with interest.

"Sending everything to the Room of Requirement," Gibbens answered, "What happens is that the traveler's default destination is where they would have been at the time, so they have to set in where they want to go before they step into the portal. We've had the setting program fixed for a while now, so the years have been what's giving us trouble. But we've started to get that together as well. At the end of each day, we send McGonagall a list of the years we've sent our Ministry passes to, and she thinks about the room at that year."

"Wicked!" Harry said.

They walked back to where Gibbens's coworker was still trying to fix the portal. They watched for a minute before Tonks turned to ask Kingsley something. As she did, she stumbled on the hem of her robes, lost her balance, and fell face first into the glowing blue light.

Sound was extinguished, except for a faint ringing in her ears. The feeling was something between Apparation and a Portkey. There was pressure, but it wasn't intense; and she could feel that sensation in the stomach, as if she was being pulled by the belly button into the air. All in all however, this method of transportation was much more pleasant than either of the other two. It took longer though; about three minutes if Tonks's counting was correct. When she finally stopped in…whatever time this was, she completed the fall she had started at the Ministry. Landing in a heap, she noticed that the ground was moving; rocking slightly. She got up and knew she was screwed. She was on a train, wearing Ravenclaw Hogwarts robes.

A thought came to her. She was the same height, which meant the portal had sent her either to her sixth or seventh year. Either way, her friends would be here. Friends that were, in her own time, either dead or in other parts of the world. She walked slowly down the hall, but didn't recognize any faces; until she came to a compartment on the right, near the end of the train. The girl looked up, a look of happy surprise on her face.

_What the hell? _Tonks thought to herself, as her girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, opened the compartment door.

"Tonks! What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, grinning from ear to ear and hugging the metamorphmagus.

"Umm," Tonks started, running a hand through her pink hair, "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Ginny said, "Be right back guys."

She closed the door to the compartment and followed Tonks into one of the empty ones.

"You have to swear not to tell anyone about this," Tonks began without preamble.

"Tonks what's wrong?" Ginny asked, a bit frightened now. Why was Tonks wearing Hogwarts robes?

With a sigh, Tonks explained the Ministry's attempt at a new style of time travel, and her little spill she had taken into one of the portals.

"…And it seems that it doesn't really make you go back, what would this be? Four or five years. It makes you younger by that much."

Ginny had listened wide eyed the whole time. Now, she took a deep breath and paced around the small room a few times.

"Well," she said, "You said McGonagall knows about this right? We'll just explain it to her and you can owl the Ministry."

Tonks just nodded, hoping to God that it would be that easy.


	3. The Problem and Ginny's Request

**_LbN: Here's the new chapter! This story's going to go pretty quick. I think I'll have one more long chapter after this...Hope you like it!_**

**TaT**

Tonks and Ginny were the first off of the train. Waving at Luna, they grabbed a carriage and began the move to the castle. Tonks knew that Luna would roll with the punches without asking too many questions. When they got to the castle, Tonks hung back with the first years while Ginny went into the Great Hall. Finally she saw the Headmistress and waved. McGonagall did a double take, and taking a deep breath, Tonks walked to the front of the line and asked,

"Could I talk to you after the feast?"

"Of course," the Headmistress said in shock.

With that, Tonks walked into the Great Hall. She sat down next to Luna and struck up a conversion about class schedules. Tonks enjoyed the Sorting; clapping as hard as the rest of the table when someone was placed in Ravenclaw. By the time the feast started, she was starving. After a few minutes, she remembered one of the reasons she loved Hogwarts. The food was amazing. However, half way through the feast, she was full and anxious to talk to McGonagall. She glanced up at the head table and saw that the Headmistress was throwing her curious looks. Tonks pointed to the door and McGonagall nodded.

"Catch you later," Tonks told Luna, getting up from her seat. She exited the Hall, aware of the many pairs of eyes on her.

It took her a while to figure out what she was going to say, how in the world she would explain this; so by the time McGonagall got to the stone gargoyle that Tonks was standing beside, the metamorphmagus was a nervous wreck. Without preamble, she began to explain what had happened that day. McGonagall listened intently until the Auror was quiet.

"Let me make sure I understand you," she said once Tonks had stopped talking, "You fell into one of the Ministry's Time Apparation Portals and instead of transporting you back four years, it made you four years younger and sent you here?"  
Tonks nodded.

"But I don't understand how that can be," McGonagall muttered, "The Ministry passes have been turning up in the proper year in the Room of Requirement."

"Probably because the Room caters to what you really need. It still holds all of the things. You wanted to see the room from…however many years ago, but you also wanted the pass back. So it put them together."

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose. Tonks had the feeling that she was counting to ten. Finally, the Headmistress looked up at her.

"Floo to the Ministry," she said, "If they can't fix it…well, you can always come back for the year. You'll probably have to relearn everything, since it changed you back; and I can't see Kingsley letting you train without that knowledge."

Tonks sighed and nodded, taking a pinch of Floo powder from McGonagall's purple flower pot on the mantle.

"Ministry of Magic!"

**TaT**

"What do you mean, you can't fix it yet??" Tonks bellowed.

"The other Portals haven't been in development as long," Gibbens said, making the classic "calm down" gesture with his hands, "We've found the problem, so we can try to match it with one of the arrival Portals. It might take a while, so you should go back to Hogwarts. I don't know if it actually…ahem…" he coughed and looked at the ground.

"What?"

"You're our first…human tester," he said apologetically, "It might have completely reverted you back to a seventeen year old."

"So it was definitely set for four years back?"

"Yeah."

Tonks ran a hand through her blue hair. That explained why she couldn't Apparate…

"Alright," she said, "Just keep me posted, okay? Daily owls would be nice."

"Of course," Gibbens patted her on the back, "And you'll be the first to know if there's a breakthrough. Just…try and make the best of it, alright? Relive your childhood," he smiled.

Tonks chuckled a little before stepping into one of the Ministry fires and Flooing back to McGonagall's office.

**TaT**

As Tonks lay in bed, she was hit yet again with how weird it was to be back at Hogwarts. Since neither the Head Boy nor Girl was a Ravenclaw this year, she had been given the Ravenclaw room reserved for the Head Girl. A lot of students had given her odd looks when she moved into the room, but she had simply told them that she was a transfer student. She really couldn't believe that they had believed her…Luna had helped, of course. Tonks had relented and told her the situation, just so she'd be in the know. She wondered, as she lay there, how many of them would cotton on soon. She was, after all, at the battle the previous year.

Over the next few days, however, no one seemed to catch on. She had a feeling a couple people knew, from the odd looks she was getting. She figured if anyone actually approached her, she'd just tell them she was an undercover Auror, protecting the school from any retaliation attacks from Death Eaters. She also discovered that McGonagall and Gibbens were right; she did have to relearn everything. It sucked. She might suddenly be four years younger, but she was still out of practice with the whole school thing. A sign in the Ravenclaw common room about two weeks into the term considerably brightened her outlook on staying at Hogwarts.

"I'm trying out for Chaser," she told Ginny during their customary walk after dinner.

"Excuse me?" Ginny smiled.

"Yeah!" Tonks said excitedly, "I miss Quidditch. It couldn't hurt, right?"

"Except for we'll be playing against each other," Ginny pouted.

"So it'll be almost like having make up sex after the game," Tonks grinned.

"Tonks!" Ginny laughed, smacking her on the arm.

They reached the lake and sat down. Ginny turned and smiled at Tonks.

"How are they doing at the Ministry?" she asked.

"Eh," Tonks shrugged, "They haven't been able to fix the Portal yet."

"I was thinking…never mind," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"What?" Tonks asked.

"It's just…is this really that bad?"

"Huh?"

"Being seventeen again. I mean, if they can't…would you be upset if you had to stay like this?" Ginny asked, turning to face Tonks.

"Well no, not really," Tonks shook her head, "I mean, it could have been a lot worse. It'll just be kind of annoying, you know? I'll have to go through Auror training again. If they don't get this sorted out soon, I'll have to learn to Apparate all over again. Why?"

"Was just wondering," Ginny mumbled.

Tonks, who was the first to brag that she knew Ginny better than anyone, smiled at her girlfriend.

"You want me to stay like this, don't you?"

"Maybe," Ginny smirked.

"Why?"

"It's just…you know. We'd be on the same level magically, your mum wouldn't be so uptight about the age difference, and since you're at Hogwarts, we'd get to spend more time together."

Tonks smiled at her and took her hand.

"It might end up that I don't have a choice…"

**_LbN: Review please! Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, there's a new poll up! It's about which series I'm going to write next, and has the title of the series as well as the number of stories. That's all I'm telling you though :). Have fun voting!!_**


	4. Winter Break

**_LbN: Finally!! Goodness I had writer's block with this one. Well, it's done now; hope you like it!!_**

**TaT**

Tonks put on her Quidditch pads, trying to quell the nerves that were building in her stomach. Peeking out to the field, she saw that it was snowing. It figured. A moment later, she was speeding onto the pitch with her teammates, lining up across from the three Gryffindor Chasers. She looked to the left and saw Ginny, who was smirking at her. This was the first time she'd seen Ginny all week, besides meals. Their respective teams had kept them away from each other, out of fear of sabotage. They obviously didn't know either girl at all…

The game was brutal. Tonks and Ginny were both playing their hardest, and, after the initial shock of this, their teams were too. Dodging a stray Bludger, Tonks flew across from one of the other Ravenclaw Chasers, waiting for him to pass the ball. He didn't; he just went in for a complicated combo shot.

"Fucking showoff," Tonks muttered.

She spun around as the crowd became louder than the freezing snowstorm. The Gryffindor Seeker had just captured the Snitch.

"Bloody hell!" she shouted.

Fifteen minutes later, the team had been chewed out by their captain about loosing and Tonks had a major headache. She was walking out of the locker room when she spotted Ginny.

"Good one," she grinned.

"You too," Ginny said, "So, post-Quidditch sex?"

"Only if you know a place where we won't get walked in on this time," Tonks grinned, remembering their tryst in the Prefects' bathroom two weeks previous.

"Room of Requirement."

**TaT**

A week later, the Hogwarts Express was making its way back to London. Ginny, Luna and Tonks were sitting in a compartment by themselves, discussing their exams and playing Exploding Snap. They looked up when the train began to slow down; they were at Kings Cross. As they got their things Ginny turned to Tonks and asked,

"You're going to come see me over break, right?"

"Yeah!" Tonks said, pulling her bags off of the rack, "Just write and tell me when you want me to come by. Hi Molly!"

Ginny's mother waved at the pair of them as they walked up.

"How are you?" she hugged both girls, then asked Tonks in a quiet voice, "Any news?"

"None," Tonks shrugged, "But I'm sure they'll have some soon."

"Well, I hope you'll come and see us! How long are you staying with your mother?"

"As long as we can tolerate each other," Tonks laughed.

"You're not allowed to spend Christmas alone, alright?" Ginny said sternly, "Come over, if you're not staying there."

"I will."

After a couple final hugs and goodbyes, the Weasleys and Tonks parted ways and Tonks hailed a cab to take her home.

**TaT**

"Mom?" Tonks called.

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda smiled, coming into the hall.

Tonks glared at her and Andromeda smiled wider.

"Oh, I've missed that petulant stare," she told her daughter, "Come on in, I'll fix you something to eat."

Tonks was mentally counting down to when she and her mum would start arguing. They had a peculiar relationship; it wasn't that it was _bad_ per se, but they weren't really able to connect for long periods of time. She made her way upstairs and put her things away. By the time she came back down, her mum had two sandwiches prepared and a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Come sit," she said, "Has the Ministry found a way to change you back yet?"

"No," Tonks said, taking a bite of her sandwich. She ate in silence for a few moments before speaking again.

"Would you be upset if I couldn't change back?"

"Well, no," Andromeda said, "It would be more of a…problem for you than anyone."

"I think I'd be okay," Tonks said, "Plus, Ginny and I would be, you know, the same age."

"Hmmph," Andromeda sipped her drink.

"That would be a good thing, right?" Tonks prompted, "You've always been worried about our age difference."

"Yes, well…" Andromeda trailed off.

"What?" Tonks asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's not just the age thing…I mean, are you sure this is what you want? To be with a girl?"

"I want to be with Ginny," Tonks said simply, "As for the whole 'girl' thing, I didn't just wake up one morning and say, 'Gee, I think I'll fancy ladies today.' That's not what happened."

"I just want you to think of your future," Andromeda said, "I want you to be happy; with a family, children."

"I am happy," Tonks assured her, "And I'll have a family."

Andromeda began to eat again, and Tonks knew to drop the subject. If her mother was done talking, then she certainly was…

The next day, Andromeda called Tonks down for breakfast.

"You've had a few letters," she told the metamorphmagus.

Tonks read them as she ate. After a minute, Andromeda sat down with her. She sat in silence for a moment before asking,

"Are you going to see her?"

"Who?" Tonks played dumb.

"Your girlfriend," Andromeda said stiffly.

"Do you not know her name?"

"Tonks, stop being a brat."

"I just want to know why you can't call her by her real name."

"Fine, are you going to see Ginny?"

"Yes, but not today. I have a few errands to run."

Andromeda simply nodded and continued to eat…

**TaT**

"Tonks!" Ginny hugged her tightly.

It was Christmas Eve and Tonks had finally had enough of her mother's cheap shots at Ginny; so she had packed her few things and Apparated to the Burrow. In the dimly lit kitchen, she saw both Weasley parents George, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Wotcher everyone!" she smiled as she walked in.

It was a highly enjoyable evening, she decided later. Much more enjoyable than the awkward, tense affair that it would have been had she stayed with her mother. As she got into bed, there was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she said.

Ginny walked in and sat down on her bed.

"Just wanted to come and say goodnight," she smiled.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," Tonks said, "I got a letter from the Ministry two days ago. They've fixed the Portal."

"Really?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Yeah, but…I wanted to know… Do you want me to stay like this?"

"Tonks?"

"I will, if you want me to," Tonks said seriously.

"…Did you talk to Andromeda about this?"

"More or less. But it really isn't about the age difference for her…"

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'm just…worried. About you getting into that thing again," Ginny said, "I mean, what if something goes wrong again?"

"I'd thought of that. That's why I wanted to know if you even wanted me to go back."

"I want you to do what you want to do," Ginny said, "It doesn't matter how old you are to me."

Tonks nodded.

**TaT**

"You ready?" Gibbens asked.

"Yeah, let's do it," Tonks said.

Gibbens prodded the Portal once more and watched it glow purple.

"Alright, go ahead."

Tonks stepped into the purple light and felt the same rush as when she was made younger. Stepping out, she knew it had worked. She didn't feel any different, but she spells that she hadn't been able to do came to her mind; and she knew with absolute certainty that she'd be able to Apparate the next time she cared to try. Oh, and she was wearing her Ministry clothes again…

"Oh, thank goodness," Gibbens smiled.

"Thanks!" Tonks hugged him, "Now I've got to go tell my girlfriend that I haven't been fried or aged fifty years…"

Gibbens laughed as Tonks Apparated away.

_**Fin**_

**If you're lost, you can look**

**And you will find me**

**Time after time.**

**If you fall, I will catch you,**

**I'll be waiting**

**Time after time.**


End file.
